Drug plague that knows no boundaries

In an area where drugs are a fact of life, the discovery of two bodies in a squalid harbourside flat would probably have been regarded as little more than yet another tragic sign of the times.

However, one of the victims was a former beauty queen from a respectable family, and the reality of a growing problem permeating all levels of society was brought home with a vengeance.

In less than two years Saranna Buchan turned from a popular, vivacious young woman into a down-trodden crack addict controlled by a violent drug-dealing boyfriend 20 years her senior. When police found her battered body and that of her lover, 41-year-old James Logan, two weeks ago shockwaves swept through the 18,000-strong coastal community of Peterhead. A good family and loving home had been no protection against this modern plague.

First Minister Alex Salmond, whose constituency covers Peterhead, last week called for a cross-party approach to end the 'scourge of drugs', which he said was sadly indicative of a problem facing the whole of Scotland.

As police continue their investigations into the apparent murder of Buchan and the suicide of Logan, who had a criminal record for violence, Graeme Pearson, the director-general of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), admitted crack cocaine was a serious problem in the north east.

'Crack cocaine is a particular problem for the north-east of Scotland. Around Aberdeen there's been regular difficulty with the drug for a couple of years now,' Pearson said.

In Aberdeen the number of cocaine users is estimated to have soared by more than 600 per cent in the last few years as dealers have targeted the oil-rich city and neighbouring communities. Organised gangs from as far as London have been working hard over the last few years to carve out a new niche market.

'These people are making vast profits dealing in misery,' said a police source. 'They can sell their drugs in the Aberdeen area for up to five times the prices they are getting in London.'

Health officials in Grampian have been fighting to stem the tide by offering crack users a range of alternative remedies, such as acupuncture, reflexology and aromatherapy, along with advice and medical treatment to help them beat the drug.

It is estimated that of the 4,000 heroin addicts registered in Aberdeen, about 95 per cent of them now also use crack.

Once their customers are hooked, the dealers are able to sit back and watch profits soar in an area where it has been calculated that the trade is worth more than £10m a week.

Outside the city the drugs plague has spread along the coast to fishing towns and villages such as Peterhead and Fraserburgh.

In Fraserburgh Dr Sandy Wisley, who has described the problem as 'the slow strangulation of a community and way of life', claims there has been a dramatic rise in patients with heroin and cocaine problems. Doctors such as Wisley are treating people whose heart rates are up at 190 beats per minute after crack binges.

'Crack cocaine is becoming a big problem,' he said. 'If people think heroin is a problem, just wait till crack really gets a hold. It is one of the worst drugs known to man.'

Despite Grampian police recording a 700 per cent increase in seizures of crack cocaine, with a street value of nearly £900,000, last year drug deaths in the region more than doubled to 48.

'It is a tragedy that 48 people died of overdoses from illegal drugs in 2006 and this figure must be one of the highest on record,' said Brian Adam, the SNP MSP for Aberdeen North.

'I am particularly concerned about the increase of crack cocaine dealing in the area and even though the police have made recent large seizures of drugs, this does not seem to have hampered this disgusting trade.'

However, according to the SCDEA, which has had a number of major successes in recent months, not least the seizure of 150kg of heroin valued at £12.5m in a raid in Glasgow on Thursday, there are signs things may be getting better across the country.

'We are involved in a war for life, not a war against drugs,' said Pearson.

'There are signs of changing behaviour. The health service reported four years ago that the number of problematic drug abusers in Scotland was 55,000. Currently it's just over 50,000. So something is happening. Whether it's a blip or a trend, we'll need to wait and see.

'I think there's been a change in young people, who are now more concerned about their well-being and health, so I'd like to think that we can work on that by giving them the information and the necessary knowledge to make their own decisions and begin to squeeze the demand end of it.

'Enforcement on its own isn't going to work. Education and prevention on their own aren't going to work. But if we combine all three as part of a full strategy I think we can get a grip on the problem.'